But the Missus didnât know about that part of her life. No, this must be the answer to what she had prayed for. But was it what she wanted? Reluctantly she allowed him to pull her into a twirl. He held her close, his feet swift and sure. Then he was waltzing her around the kitchen and out the door. They danced in the sweet clover grass where just days ago she had lain with her legs spread, an offering to the moon. She closed her eyes and let him lead, faster and faster.
She floated in his arms, becoming weightless and small, her body molding to his rhythm. The sun beat down on her, radiating from him as intensely as it did from the sky. And then somehow he was behind her. Holding her close with his arms
around her, hugging her, he hummed a tune as he rocked her back and forth in the morning breeze. A trickle of sweat rolled down her neck toward her cleavage, caressing the pendant. He smelled spicy and musky, a little peppery. She inhaled deeply. His body fit behind her solidly even though she stood inches taller than he and forty pounds heavier. She leaned into his swaying, allowing herself to relax a bit, to surrender to the sun, and the heat, and the man. Sighing, she relinquished her anger and chose to follow the path the moon had offered her.
âYou sure are a great dancer, Miss Tara,â he murmured. âWeâre a team now, and if youâll let me join you, together weâll create a feast like nobodyâs ever seen.â
She settled more deeply into him, not worrying that her bulk would overpower him. A soft moan escaped her. For a small man he had great strength and agility. She felt his balance shifting slightly with her, letting her know he was in control, that he was confident in his ability to lead this dance.
âMiss Tara,â he whispered again, his spicy breath tickling her neck. âThe Missus thinks I came here to cook for her party, and I can do that. But I would rather make this dance with you, this whole night a joy to behold, like it must have been for the good Lord when He was creating the world. Only thereâll be two of us, so weâll get more gladness out of it. Why, I expect Heâll see us and be downright jealous at the way weâll dance together.â He ran the tip of his tongue lightly along the edge of her ear and the last of her resistance drifted away with a shiver. He planted a kiss in the hollow where her neck and shoulder met. âLetâs make this food a part of our dance, Miss Tara.â
Iâll pay for this, she thought. But the moon glowed high in the sky and she could feel it tickling the jewel. Earlier she had noticed how the moon and the sun were both shining on her
through the window. Together they had raised her temperature even before Mr. Charles had danced his way into her kitchen. The heat had forced her to open the top button on her uniform this morning. And now it encouraged sweat to run down the crevice between her breasts.
The dual light of moon and sun joined the female and male together. It caressed her face as his hands began to caress her body. She drank in the light. She closed her eyes as his hands stroked her arms, her waist, and then her breasts. She made up her mind to let the moon guide her. They said that the moon was the force behind the tides down at Toledo beach. She could let it be her force. He would be her sun. The gleam of his smile and the heat of his personality mingling with her dark yellow glow, all this would warm the night.
Finally, when she thought she could stand this ecstasy no longer, she pulled away. But she turned back quickly to take his hand. âWe got work to do,â she said. Once sheâd made up her mind, it was easy. The power of the moon remained with her, pulsing in the stone, making her movements liquid as she scrubbed and peeled vegetables. He seared the meat and broiled the canapés. She liked watching his quick, efficient movements. His hands deftly turned radishes into